The factors driving learning cultures within organizations were examined in case studies of seven organizations in New South Wales and South Australia. The seven organizations represented the pharmaceutical manufacturing, community services and health, agriculture, information technology, and local government sectors. In some cases, organizations' commitment to learning was characterized primarily by the establishment or expansion of formal on-the-job and off-the-job training/learning programs. In other cases, organizations increased commitment to learning by encouraging employees to engage in more collaborative teamwork that generated new forms of learning or by establishing new ways of working (including the introduction of work performance standard setting and performance feedback measures). The following factors were mentioned as driving organizations' commitment to learning: the pressures of an increasingly competitive economic environment; the need to acquire and retain staff with appropriate work skills; newly created forms of management or work organization; and provision of more feedback regarding employees and organization performance. The following dimensions of learning culture were identified: environments pressing the organization to change; organizational systems promoting learning; and practices securing employee commitment. Creation of learning cultures appeared to require deliberate arrangements designed to maximize productive work in a highly competitive environment. (MN)